Here’s a short video that explains how soap kills the coronavirus. This is probably a good video for your kids, if they are asking why? I hope this doesn’t insult anyone’s intelligence. I wanted to share a video that relates to what is on everyone’s mind.

If weather permits, I’ll get some walking in for cardio. If not, I’ll be using the family supine bicycle.

If you are having a hard time with transition to the home for your workouts, check out YouTube. There are hundreds of them. You can also check out Bodybuilding.com for more ideas. Kagedmuscle.com is also a great site for home workouts, but I’ll warn you, this site is for senior/experienced lifters. The workouts are brutal. I have warned you. HaHa!!

Well, folks, it’s been tough for a lot of folks for quite a while. Countries all over the world are being hit by this virus and it doesn’t appear to be letting up. I continue to hope that you, my readers, are safe and doing OK.

For most of you, being stuck at home is a real change. Americans, in fact, most of us, love our freedom to head out to eat, go to the gym, go to the library, or even go to work. When something like this sticks its ugly head up, it can be hard for people to make a significant change like this.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m a homebody. I head out to the gym, library, or coffee shop, but I can work out at home, I have access to over 10,000 digital books in my collection, and I have a terrific little Keurig coffee machine for my caffeine intake. I’m used to this lifestyle because my Dad has dementia and cannot be home alone. So either my Mom or I am here with him, while the other heads out for errands or whatever. So, not so much of a change for the Gardner family.

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

Physical – exercise daily, eat right daily, drink water daily, and get plenty of sleep daily.

Mental – school work daily, journal daily, book writing daily.

Spiritual – Meditate (spiritual exercise) daily, read Bible daily.

Social – Blog daily, post helpful articles (non-coronavirus or political articles) daily, post good quotes daily, help the folks daily, and interact with family via text and phone daily (Brother, Wife, Niece, and Nephew are in AZ, Mom and Dad are home, Sister is 2 hours away in Michigan).

I think today is a good day to offer one of my favorite quotes. I like it so much; I have it in my Gmail signature for anyone to read when they get an email from me. Here’s the quote:

“Every time you think the problem is ‘out there,’ that very thought is the problem.” – Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The reason I like this quote is that it addresses one problem many people suffer from—worrying about things they have ZERO control over. The coronavirus is a good example.

None of us controls who will get it and who will not. We can do what we are told to mitigate the chances, but we’re still not 100% safe from this thing. You can’t control your friends or your neighbors. You can’t control anything other than you. You can follow instructions. You can stay informed. You can help others. You can control how you react to this thing. You can control what you watch, what you read, and what you listen to. You can control how you react to these input streams. You can’t control the emails you receive, the negativity or fake news stories on your social media news feeds. You can only control you.

It it a time of uncertainty? Sure. Is it scary, uncomfortable, nerve-wracking? It can be, if you let it. A wise man once told me that when bad times hit, you can serve others. You can serve your loved ones. You can serve your immediate family. You can serve your pets. When you serve others, you stop thinking about yourself. Be selfless.

If you are one of the unfortunate people stuck in an area where the coronavirus is hitting really hard, like New York, Washington, or any number of places in the U.S. or abroad, I can only hope that you and your family are safe and sound. If not, I am sending good thoughts your way. I hope the effects are minimal at most.

It is times like these that remind me of some situations I found myself in the Army. When you’re in a tough situation, you do the best you can. You take care of one another. That’s all you can do.

I remember a friendly fire incident during a training exercise I took part in. One of the soldiers in my unit dropped a training round inside his personnel carrier and the round went off, sending a 40-mm projectile through his face. It was horrific, sudden, and unexpected. We jumped into action to get the soldier to a nearby hospital. He was dead on arrival. Just like that, a young man was with us, laughing and joking around. In a second, his life ended. Just because he dropped a training round.

This coronavirus acts the same way. It strikes people who did nothing wrong. They were just living their lives. Then, just like that, they get sick; they get rushed to the hospital, and they’re gone in a few hours or days. Could their loved ones do anything? No.

My heart goes out to anyone that has lost a loved one to this nasty bug. It goes out to the first-responders who have to deal with the families who have lost a loved one, through no fault of their own. It goes out to the hospital staff and the doctors at risk and putting their lives on the line every day. It goes out to the people who lost their jobs and don’t know how they will pay their rent, buy food, or take care of their families. It goes out to the many teachers getting creative to continue teaching their students. It goes out to literally anyone affected by this tragedy.

Take care of yourself. Only trust sources of information that are credible. Check everything you receive, including information sent by paranoid and conspiracy-theory driven family members and friends. I don’t blame anyone for what they do during times like these. People deal with things differently. Some believe they are doing good by passing along information, they believe is true.

You are the only one who can control you. You are the only one who can control how you react to these trying times. You can’t control the disease. You can’t control what will happen to your neighbors, friends, and colleagues. You only control you. I’ll end here.

A doctor tells an old couple at his office he needs to get a stool sample, a urine sample, and a blood test from the old man. Hard of hearing, the old man asks his wife what the doctor said. The wife replies, “He needs a pair of your underwear.”

In light of all of the tragedy stretching across the globe, I wanted to express my gratitude for the health of my family and friends. It could be a lot worse, and luckily, it isn’t.

One of my friends wasn’t so lucky. He lost two fraternity brothers this week to the coronavirus. There are thousands of stories of families losing loved ones, told and untold. According to the World Health Education Website we are at 416,686 confirmed cases, 18,589 confirmed deaths, with 197 countries impacted.

How are you handling your day? For those of you with kids, I imagine many adjustments are being made in and around the home-schooling schedule. That being said, how are you tackling your day?

Are you exercising? Pursuing your goals?

Why not take the time you have and learn that new skill you’ve been looking to work on? Why not read that book that’s collecting dust? Why not try out some new recipes at home?

If you’re a TV person, take some time to get caught up on the series you haven’t had time to watch, or heck, change genres and spread your wings? Recently I watched an old Cagney film on Amazon. It was terrific!

The primary point of today’s posting is to get creative. Try new things. Get to work on those projects that were impossible when you add in a 3-hour commute to work. Get in some exercise. Everything you did while you were “free” is still possible if you put a little effort in. Exercises at the gym can be replaced with body weight exercises at home. Eating out can be replaced by ordering in. Work at the office can be replaced by Telework.

For those of you who have been laid off or let go because your company is tightening its belt, I’m sorry. It has to be scary to be out of work and locked down in your home. Make sure you are checking local sources for help. There are food banks, and other services that have been made available to hold you over.

If you’re sitting pretty, find out if any elderly neighbors need help with groceries. Offer your services to your local school, who may need some tutors. Take a look around online and make some calls. There are lots of things to do if you put your mind to it. You’ll help other people, and you’ll take your mind off of the craziness.

I hope you are staying safe. I hope you are staying informed. If you’re in the US, the best resources I’ve found are the CDC.gov website and the President’s daily briefings on the news or YouTube. On the CDC website, you’ll see a picture of the United States. If you click on your state in the graphic of the US, it’ll pull up your state’s health department. Your local paper will have your local health department with all the latest information that will apply directly to you.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope each of you are OK. Hang in there. This thing will end.

I hope all of you are safe, healthy, and paying attention to the new in your area so you can remain that way. From what I’ve seen, the U.S. government is doing all it can to help those hardest hit, and my local authorities in Michigan are doing what they can.

Stay safe, stay informed, and follow local guidance.

Here’s my week, folks. Luckily, since I complete all of my work on my laptop, my productivity has been unaffected by recent events. I know some of you are dealing with some real adversity. I hope you are OK, and conditions in your home country continue to improve for you and your loved ones.

Social (practicing social distancing, but staying in touch with Wife, Brother, Sister, and friends)

I hope all of you are safe and remain that way. If anyone is isolated or alone, and you need someone to talk with, feel free to reach out to me in the comments. We can work something out to connect with each other via phone, video chat, or some other medium.